--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Did not God Sometimes withhold in mercy…" description: "\"Did not God Sometimes withhold in mercy what we ask, We should be ruined at our own request.\" — Hannah More" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/hannah-more-2695_asks_did-not-god-sometimes-withhold-in-mercy_2816181.png" --- # Did not God Sometimes withhold in mercy what we ask, We… ![“Did not God Sometimes withhold in mercy what we ask, We should be ruined at our own request.” quote by Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/hannah-more-2695_asks_did-not-god-sometimes-withhold-in-mercy_2816181.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/hannah-more-2695_asks_did-not-god-sometimes-withhold-in-mercy_2816181.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/hannah-more-2695_asks_did-not-god-sometimes-withhold-in-mercy_2816181.png) > “Did not God Sometimes withhold in mercy what we ask, We should be ruined at our own request.” [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Divine mercy may withhold answers; demanding them can lead to self‑destruction, implying humility before higher will. **In simple terms:** Ask with humility. Key Takeaway Accept limits of control. Themes faith mercy humility Mood contemplative hopeful Type spiritual advice When to use this quote - prayer - personal crisis - decision making Key Concepts theology self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - What does humility look like in practice? - How to balance prayer and action? A Different Perspective Blind faith can hinder agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ask Ruined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask-ruined-3555374/) [Asks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [God Withhold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-withhold-682151/) [Mercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercy/) [Mercy Ask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercy-ask-3555373/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Prayers not being answered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayers-not-being-answered/) [Request](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/request/) [Ruined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruined/) [Ruined Request](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruined-request-3555375/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Withhold Mercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/withhold-mercy-2702273/) ## Related quotes > [“Do not withhold Your mercy from me, O Lord; may Your love and Your truth always protect me. For troubles without number surround me;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/do-not-withhold-your-mercy-from-me-o-lord-may-your-love-and-your/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [“If God didn't withhold from us His very own Son, will God withhold anything we need?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/if-god-didn-t-withhold-from-us-his-very-own-son-will-god-withhold/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [O, my God! withhold from me the wealth to which tears and sighs and curses cleave. Better none at all than wealth like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-scriver/o-my-god-withhold-from-me-the-wealth-to-which-tears-and-sighs-and/) [Christian Scriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-scriver/) > [“God may withhold an answer to prayer until we relinquish control of the outcome and put our complete trust in Him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-elizabeth-anderson/god-may-withhold-an-answer-to-prayer-until-we-relinquish-control-of/) [Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-elizabeth-anderson/) > [Prayer is not eloquence but earnestness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/prayer-is-not-eloquence-but-earnestness/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Prayer is not eloquence, but earnestness; not the definition of helplessness, but the feeling of it; not figures of speech, but earnestness of soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/prayer-is-not-eloquence-but-earnestness-not-the-definition-of/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Great God, grant that twice two be not four.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/great-god-grant-that-twice-two-be-not-four/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [I have so much to do that I spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/i-have-so-much-to-do-that-i-spend-several-hours-in-prayer-before-i-am/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [The story of every great Christian achievement is the history of answered prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/the-story-of-every-great-christian-achievement-is-the-history-of/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude - an attitude of dependency, dependency upon God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/prayer-is-not-so-much-an-act-as-it-is-an-attitude-an-attitude-of/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [Worship is the earthly act by which we most distinctly recognize our personal immortality; men who think that they will be extinct a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-parry-liddon/worship-is-the-earthly-act-by-which-we-most-distinctly-recognize-our/) [Henry Parry Liddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-parry-liddon/) > [Prayer is so necessary, and the source of so many blessings, that he who has discovered the treasure cannot be prevented from having recourse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/prayer-is-so-necessary-and-the-source-of-so-many-blessings-that-he/) [Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [There is a general kind of praying which fails for lack of precision. It is as if a regiment of soldiers should all fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/there-is-a-general-kind-of-praying-which-fails-for-lack-of-precision/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Commemoration of Brooke Foss Westcott, Bishop of Durham, Teacher, 1901 Be not afraid to pray... to pray is right. Pray if thou canst with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hartley-coleridge/commemoration-of-brooke-foss-westcott-bishop-of-durham-teacher-1901/) [Hartley Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hartley-coleridge/) > [The third petition of the Lord's Prayer is repeated daily by millions who have not the slightest intention of letting anyone's will be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-third-petition-of-the-lord-s-prayer-is-repeated-daily-by-millions/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## More by Hannah More > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Wisdom views with an indifferent eye all finite joys, all blessings born to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/wisdom-views-with-an-indifferent-eye-all-finite-joys-all-blessings/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Yes, thou art ever present, power divine; not circumscribed by time, nor fixed by space, confined to altars, nor to temples bound. In wealth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/yes-thou-art-ever-present-power-divine-not-circumscribed-by-time-nor/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [All reformations seem formidable before they are attempted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/all-reformations-seem-formidable-before-they-are-attempted/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [He who has once taken to drink can seldom be said to be guilty of one sin only.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/he-who-has-once-taken-to-drink-can-seldom-be-said-to-be-guilty-of-one/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [We are too ready to imagine that we are religious, because we know something of religion. We appropriate to ourselves the pious sentiments we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/we-are-too-ready-to-imagine-that-we-are-religious-because-we-know/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [A corrupt practice may be abolished, but a soiled imagination is not easily cleansed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/a-corrupt-practice-may-be-abolished-but-a-soiled-imagination-is-not/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [A faint endeavor ends in a sure defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/a-faint-endeavor-ends-in-a-sure-defeat/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Oh! the joy Of young ideas painted on the mind, In the warm glowing colors fancy spreads On objects not yet known, when all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/oh-the-joy-of-young-ideas-painted-on-the-mind-in-the-warm-glowing/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [The world does not require so much to be informed as to be reminded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/the-world-does-not-require-so-much-to-be-informed-as-to-be-reminded/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If we commit any crime, or do any good here, it must be in thought; for our words are few and our deeds none…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/if-we-commit-any-crime-or-do-any-good-here-it-must-be-in-thought-for/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [nothing is more common than to mistake the sign for the thing itself; nor is any practice more frequent than that of endeavoring to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/nothing-is-more-common-than-to-mistake-the-sign-for-the-thing-itself/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [“Forgiveness spares the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/forgiveness-spares-the-expense-of-anger-the-cost-of-hatred-the-waste/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [How much it is to be regretted, that the British ladies should ever sit down contented to polish, when they are able to reform;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/how-much-it-is-to-be-regretted-that-the-british-ladies-should-ever/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Who are those ever multiplying authors that with unparalleled fecundity are overstocking the world with their quick succeeding progeny? They are novel-writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/who-are-those-ever-multiplying-authors-that-with-unparalleled/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) [Explore all 154 Hannah More quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I am a practicing Catholic, but my lineage is Jewish, so if someone asks me if I'm Jewish, I say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-campbell/i-am-a-practicing-catholic-but-my-lineage-is-jewish-so-if-someone/) [Neve Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-campbell/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. I shake my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-don-t-know-how-to-say-it-exactly-only-i-want-to-die-as-myself-does/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) [Browse all 7,138 Asks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Did not God Sometimes withhold in mercy what we ask, We should be ruined at our own request.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hannah More" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/did-not-god-sometimes-withhold-in-mercy-what-we-ask-we-should-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asks" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/did-not-god-sometimes-withhold-in-mercy-what-we-ask-we-should-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/hannah-more-2695_asks_did-not-god-sometimes-withhold-in-mercy_2816181.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/hannah-more-2695_asks_did-not-god-sometimes-withhold-in-mercy_2816181.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/hannah-more-2695_asks_did-not-god-sometimes-withhold-in-mercy_2816181.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Did not God Sometimes withhold in mercy what we ask, We should be ruined at our own request.” — Hannah More", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hannah More", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Did not God Sometimes withhold in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/did-not-god-sometimes-withhold-in-mercy-what-we-ask-we-should-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/did-not-god-sometimes-withhold-in-mercy-what-we-ask-we-should-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```